Little Girl Blue and the Man in the Moon
by Palaven Blues
Summary: Kolyat has always been referred to as Thane's son, but she was really daddy's girl until he left the last time. Now grown, she is an assassin with daddy issues and several different definitions of "bloodlust." For a prompt on the kmeme.
1. The Hunt

Kolyat strode through the Citadel purposefully, the long tails of her dark violet coat swirling around her thighs. The Citadel was her favorite place in the galaxy, and it thrummed with life in a way few other places did. Illium, perhaps; with its ominous shadows around every corner, the secret darkness that its residents tried so valiantly to keep hidden. Omega, certainly; with its bare face hanging out, not caring that anyone in the galaxy could see it for exactly what it was. The Citadel was alive, it breathed and moved with the countless little figures it supported, all of them scrabbling and fighting to keep their petty lives.

Kolyat would end one of them today.

She stopped at a noodle stand, ordering her meal and then taking it with her. She looked down into the bowl, smiling slightly as she thought that it looked like a bowl of pale earthworms. Had her people eaten those, once? When they had been but tiny animals, simple creatures trying to eke out an existence in the murderous deserts of their home? She thought they had. She slurped her noodles, enjoying the feeling of being one of those ancestors, a primitive predator who relished her meal more because of the effort it took to get it. _Grubs dug out of the ground, hot sun beating down. Scrabbling in the thin earth for a morsel of something that might not be dry.  
_  
Kolyat ate half her meal, dumping the rest into a trashcan. It would be better to hunt hungry, to have both need and drive to make the kill. She could eat again afterwards. She wondered briefly if her father hunted hungry as she did, but dismissed the thought. He was no part of her life, now. Those fleeting moments when the target lay gasping in front of her, his blood pouring out into her hands, those moments were the closest she would ever be to him, the closest she would ever wish to be. As far as she was concerned, the old man was dead now. For all she knew, she might be correct.

_Three weeks earlier_

Kolyat eyed the other patrons as she slid into a booth in a darkened corner of the bar. Sunset-colored eyes scanned the crowd, dramatic against her blue-tinged coloring, nearly identical to her mother's. The eyes and skin, both rare colors for her species, helped with the hunt. Few could resist the lure of the exotic. She watched the patrons thoughtfully, picking her target. She had accepted a commission and needed to get to the Citadel sooner rather than later. One of these people would command a ship that she would take there.

Easily dismissed were those having fun. Too difficult to get alone. People in crowds were likely to have crews, as well, which was entirely too much effort right now. Also unlikely were any of those that looked too depressed; she did not want to spend the time convincing someone to get off his ass and go with her. Her eyes never stopped moving, identifying those possibilities which remained.

A sinuous asari placed Kolyat's drink on the table before her and Kolyat picked it up, holding it to her lips but not drinking. Too many in the crowd, packed in like _hra'asa._ Impossible to verify whether the drink was safe. She glanced at the asari waitress, not to show gratitude for the drink, but to evaluate the species. Asari tended to find her skin tone enchanting, but were dismayingly fixated on certain physical assets she lacked, as a drell. Not worth the time investment.

Her eyes continued their scan, mentally ruling out humans, as well. Her gaze landed on a turian, tall and graceful, swooping green markings denoting his colony of origin. Turians were laughably easy. No social rules about not fucking, and no expectations in the mammary department. Kolyat sneered in contempt slightly before putting on her neutral mask once more. She left the drink and began to make her way through the crowd. Her heart raced slightly as she began her hunt.

"Hey," a voice said as Kolyat felt a tug on her sleeve. Time slowed as she turned to the threat, face still impassive until she knew whether she would act.

_Human. Drunk. Interested. _ It had been a while since the prey sought her out. Senses dulled by liquor, this one had no inkling that she was better left alone.

"Hello yourself," she said, watching the man's cobalt eyes widen. Her long-fingered hand left the ivory hilt of her knife and she stood nearly sideways in relation to him. _I should go, _this posture told the prey, _but I just do not want to._

"Sit down, have a drink," the man slurred.

Kolyat laughed, then smiled slightly in that way the human males all seemed to like, half rueful and half damsel-in-distress. "I should not," she said. Her voice was naturally low and husky, and she lowered it a bit more for the dark-haired man who did not know she had him. She watched his pupils dilate as his sub-brain recognized Bedroom Voice, that universal constant. "I am supposed to meet a friend … he was to take me to the Citadel. You do not think that he left me here, do you?"

One blue-green hand plucked, seemingly nervously, at the hem of her violet coat as the man worked through his options.

"I'm … I'm sure no one would deliberately leave a pretty thing like you behind," he said, causing Kolyat's smile to widen. Amonkira, she loved the nice ones.

"I do not see him, though," she whispered. A quickly-recalled memory of her mother summoned tears to her eyes, causing the human to jump up to comfort her. He nearly tumbled, drunk as he was, and she shot out a hand to rebalance him so quickly that he did not realize she had helped.

"There, there." His arms went around her and patted her on the back. "Why don't you tell me who you're looking for, and I'll see if I can help you? I know all the regulars."

"His name is Tarontus." _Red markings. Mandibles thrumming as he chirps down at me, content to have me in his bed, finally. Only thirty seconds before he realizes his mistake._

"Turian guy? We don't get many here. Wait right here, Miss …?"

"Kolyat." She allowed herself to be gently pushed onto a barstool, head tilted down while looking up at the now-taller human. The human males ate this stuff up.

"I'm Greg. Just wait here, order something to drink, and I'll see what I can find out."

Kolyat nodded. He would find nothing. When he came back, he would make the offer of his own ship, which she would tearfully accept, explaining that she and Tarontus had not been mere friends.

Once Greg was out of sight, she checked the time on her omni-tool. In half an hour or so, she would be gone from Illium, and headed for the Citadel.

#

"Greg," she panted.

Kolyat had let him kiss her in the bar, remembering her first kiss for him, her first love, then blushing prettily turquoise for him. The humans were really almost too easy. After that, he had led her to his ship, an ugly squat thing crouched in the docking bay like an insect. Upon seeing it, Kolyat had blinked both sets of eyelids, momentarily lost in a memory of hump-backed _krelka_ weighing a ton or more, spindly legs pulling them across the endless desert of her ancestors. Then she blinked again, deliberately, and found herself being pulled aboard by Greg.

A moment later, she was pressed up against the wall of the decontamination chamber, his leg forced between hers and his mouth desperately searching hers. Kolyat nearly laughed aloud when his hands tried to move to her breasts and found none; even the ones who knew would forget, it seemed.

"Should we begin our journey, first?" she asked. She preferred not having to navigate out from busy planets herself; one never could trust that the people minding air traffic were paying attention.

"Plenty of time … later," he gasped. His eyes were black pools, irises completely obliterated as the hallucinogens in her skin took effect. Somewhere around her narrow waist, his little pink humiliation was poking at her.

_And they are so very proud of them, each one._ Kolyat placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back firmly. "There will be plenty of time for _this_ after we are moving."

"Please," he moaned, folding her back into his arms. He nuzzled at her neck, causing Kolyat to sigh at the slimy, dead-fish feel of his slobbering mouth. She really did not have time for this.

Greg shuddered as eight inches of black _tamehagane_ steel penetrated his chest, the diamond microserration on the blade allowing Kolyat to slide it right through his breastbone as though it was merely boneless flesh.

"Mmph."

Kolyat turned them around so that she now had him leaning up against the wall, her length pressed against him to hold him up. She placed her free hand on his chest to brace, pulling the knife out an inch at a time. She licked the blade clean, eyes fluttering at the coveted taste, so difficult to acquire.

"I really think we should get moving now, Greg." Kolyat dropped the body, leaving it for the time being. She would dump it out of the airlock once she was out of Illium space.

#

Kolyat docked at the Citadel, giving the old Captain's name and identification numbers. She checked quickly to be sure she was carrying everything she needed; her several knives, the gun she carried tucked into the back of her waistband. She travelled lightly, since she did not keep a ship and could not return to this one; she had a small long-term storage locker in Tayseri Ward that held a few pieces of clothing and essentials, just as she had on several hub worlds and stations.

The last thing she did was type up an entry in the log which would lead any investigators to believe the man had abandoned his ship voluntarily. Once she was gone, the ship was triggered to run a full decontamination, erasing any trace of her presence here.

Now she only needed to get into the Citadel proper. She slipped out of the ship that was so briefly hers and walked away from the check-in station, appearing to take a call on her omni-tool. If she climbed quickly up the advertising tower that was the third from the left side of the security desk, she could reach a Keeper tunnel in the ceiling there. A quick glance to confirm that no one was watching her, and she was up, popping through the grate and closing it again before it could be noticed. She did not scramble as human would or lurch like a turian trying to climb; her movements were sure and graceful, as though she were perfectly designed for the work. Once inside, it was easy enough to navigate the tunnels so that she would come out in a back alley she knew in Zakera ward, a place that was frequently deserted and therefore safe for her. She saw only one Keeper on her way and it froze when it saw her, backing out of her way. Apparently, they had learned from her last visit here.

Kolyat dropped into her alley, knife at the ready, but as expected, it was devoid of life apart from her. She straightened, sliding the knife back into the sheath at her thigh. She brushed her jacket off, unnecessarily, as the Keepers liked to keep their tunnels immaculate. Then she stepped into the hustle and bustle of Zakera Ward, ready to find her contact and make her kill, completing yet another contract that she did not for the money which she hoarded away like a greedy _kreyu_ collecting its blue _tsora_ seeds, but for the sheer illegitimate thrill of it.

#

"Mouse," she grated, voice low and husky.

The young man turned, eyebrows shooting up toward his short brown hair. "Krios?" he asked.

Kolyat moved quickly, pinning him to the wall without touching him, left hand by his head and much too close for him to escape her. Her right hand let her knife rest gently against his throat.

"Shit, not Krios. Sorry, I, uh, thought you were someone else for a minute." Mouse tried to push himself further into the wall. For a moment, he had really though she was Thane Krios who, while scary, kept a measure of control about himself that had allowed Mouse to relax around him eventually. This drell, however, seemed very different. Her lips, painted a dark purple that matched both her coat and some of her markings, were parted scant inches from his face but her look was one that was not sensual, but predatory.

Or maybe both, he thought, watching as she licked her lips once and breathed deeply, eyes sliding closed. "So, uh, I'm very sorry –" Mouse began again.

"Kolyat Krios," she supplied for him.

Sudden understanding dawned on Mouse. "Oh, Kolyat. Thane's kid, right? You look –" He faltered, trying to find a word she wouldn't take as an insult. "Different. Different from your holo."

The knife traced a light path down his chest, barely enough to indent the fabric but leaving the threat evident. At any time, this crazy drell could flick her wrist, and some very vital organs would be left on the floor of the wards.

"You are the child who used to run errands for him, I presume?"

"Hey, I'm not a kid anymore," Mouse said, immediately regretting it when the knife dipped lower, pressing against the front of his pants. He swallowed, wondering if he was going to escape from this unscathed.

"All grown then, are you?" Kolyat asked. She smiled a little, the expression almost matching the wry smirk Thane had always used when he was amused by something. Mouse thought that he really didn't want to know what was amusing her.

"What do you want?" he whispered.

The teasing look left her face and her eyes sharpened as she returned to business. "I am looking for Elias Kelham. I have business with him."

"I'll set up a meeting," he agreed readily. Anything to get her away from him and that knife off his junk.

"You will not. You will instead procure the details on my contract. I will get them from you."

"Fine, fine." Mouse would have agreed to almost anything by this point. "Come back and find me here tomorrow, and –"

"Not here. I will find you, though. Do not dawdle. I dislike being delayed." She blinked languidly, reading him to see if he was going to comply. She nodded once, satisfied with what she saw.

Mouse sighed gratefully as she stepped back, taking that threatening blade away and disappearing into the crowds like a mist. He sent a message first thing, not to Elias, but to one of his people. Kolyat did not like being delayed. Only after the message was sent did he slide down the wall until his butt hit the ground, trying to get his breathing to even out. Shit, Thane really should have been around for that kid.

"I thought Kolyat was a guy."


	2. Target

Chapter Two

Target

"Siha, there is something …." Thane paused, sighing deeply as he stared out into the stars.

Shepard stepped up close to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "What is it, Thane? You know I'm here for you."

Thane's hand rested on her wrist a moment before he pulled her hands away. "Do not trouble yourself, Siha." He walked away from the window but Shepard caught his sleeve before he could go too far.

"Thane, tell me." Her green eyes looked up into his dark ones, brow furrowed in concern.

"It is my … son," Thane said hesitantly.

"You have a son?" Shepard's mouth fell open. How had she never heard about this? She guided him into his chair and slid into her own across the table. She absorbed his story, ignoring the fits and starts, just listening to the tale of sorrow. Trained to be an assassin from an early age, wife killed, a child who would forever blame him for it.

"And now, it seems Kolyat is intent on following in my footsteps. I had hoped … he would choose differently. Siha, is there any way we could go to the Citadel? If I can stop this from happening, if I can save … him. I couldn't save Irikah. But I could still save Kolyat."

Shepard reached across the table to hold his hand. "Of course, Thane. We'll go right away, okay?"

Thane nodded, his eyes slightly wet and seeming even larger than normal.

"Come here," Shepard said, pulling gently at his hand. She led him to the narrow cot and found a way to wrap around him without them both falling. "EDI, set a course for the Citadel, please."

After a while, Thane slept, with Shepard curled around him.

#

Mouse jittered, waiting for Kolyat. He had gotten in contact with Kelham's people, gotten the details, and was now just waiting for the Krios kid to show up and terrorize him again.

Mouse gestured for his third cup of coffee. She was on her way, he knew it. He could feel it, like the crackle of ozone you sometimes got if a biotic charged up too close to you. So, he was staying here. The diner was a block from a C-Sec station, it was open twenty hours a day, and they served food cheap. He didn't have to leave his booth at all until she found him.

Except he had to use the bathroom.

_Maybe I should rethink the coffee._ Mouse squirmed. If she tracked him here and didn't find him because he'd left, he didn't know what she might do to him. She'd already threatened to cut off his –

"Here's your coffee, sir," the asari waitress said, setting the mug down. "Was there anything _else_ you needed?" She tapped her foot; the scrawny human had been here for six hours already and hadn't ordered anything other than coffee. If he didn't order something soon, she was going to ask Krev to kick him out.

"Hey, I was wondering, could you watch my booth? Just for a minute. If a drell shows up, tell her I'm just in the bathroom?"

"I'm not a messenger service. I'm a waitress. I work for tips?"

Mouse looked up at her. Her dark blue markings were almost invisible against her flushed skin. How was he pissing off so many women he didn't know?

"I'll order anything you want and tip a hundred percent if you don't let her leave without speaking to me." His bladder situation was quickly becoming an emergency, but he couldn't leave the booth without knowing Kolyat wouldn't find him missing. He did not want her hunting him down.

"Oh, fine." The asari rolled her eyes and Mouse bolted past her, heading for the bathroom.

"Oh, thank God," he muttered in relief.

"Why have you been staying in such crowded areas?" Kolyat asked from behind him.

Mouse froze. "Could you … maybe, just … back up a little?"

"Do you require assistance?" Kolyat asked. Warm breath stirred the short hairs on the back of his neck.

"I got your info, okay? Data chip, in my pocket. You'll have to crack it yourself. I'd get it down for you, but my hands are a little busy."

A stealthy blue-green hand slipped into his pocket, fishing out the chip before retreating once more.

"Just go do your thing and leave me alone, please?" Mouse didn't get a response, and after a moment he glanced back to see that Kolyat was gone again.

#

"You Mouse?"

Mouse turned to the voice and his stomach dropped. _Shit, she's back!_ For a moment, he fought to draw breath before realizing it was the other drell assassin he knew.

"Sh-shit, Krios? I thought you retired." Mouse took in Thane's companion and he startled once more. "Commander Shepard? I thought you were dead." _Am I dead? Did Kolyat kill me? _The thumping in his chest would seem to indicate otherwise, but why would Commander Shepard be here if he wasn't?

"Be still, Mouse." Thane clapped him on the shoulder, apparent friendliness to disarm him. "You can change your pants in a moment."

"We need you to answer some questions," Shepard said.

"Questions? No, no, no, no, no. The people I work for, I can't just give their info to anyone who asks."

Thane stepped forward, seizing the front of Mouse's jacket. "You will answer for me. You gave another drell instructions for an assassination. Who was the target?"

"I don't know, shit! Mt employers, they really don't –"

Shepard stepped forward, pushed Thane aside, and knocked Mouse down. "I don't have time for this," she muttered as she placed one heavy boot on his neck.

Mouse tried to move the boot, keep it off his windpipe. He didn't have the leverage. "Thane," he rasped. "Help me."

Thane crouched by Mouse's face, eyes intent. "Help me, Mouse. My child is out there, lost in the darkness. Help me bring Kolyat home."

"Why I … helped … thought you'd … want me … help your kid. Please."

Thane nodded to Shepard and she shifted her weight, allowing Mouse to draw in a ragged – but full – breath.

"I need something, Mouse. You've given us nothing to go on." Thane's face was implacable.

"Kelham's gonna kill me," Mouse whined.

"Who?" Shepard asked. She pressed against his throat again.

Mouse fought to throw the foot off. His eyes pleaded with Thane. "Elias … Kelham," he gasped finally. Mouse flinched when Shepard reached down to help him back to his feet.

"Tell me about Kelham."

Mouse shuddered, but gave them everything they asked for. Either Kolyat or Kelham was going to kill him in the next week, he knew it. Nothing he could do about it now.

"Do me a favor?" he asked Thane as they were leaving. "Put a bullet in Kelham's head before you go, would you?"

Thane paused, looking at the now-grown duct rat he'd known so long ago.

"Come on, Thane, we gotta go." Shepard shifted from foot to foot. They had a limited amount of time to run down Kolyat before it was too late.

"A moment, Siha." Thane pressed something into Mouse's hand, patting him on the back once more. "It might be safer for you if you left the Citadel."

_Shit, yeah it'd be safer._ At least from Kelham. Kelham's reach didn't extend past the wards. As for Kolyat? Mouse looked at the credit chit Thane had given him.

_Well, at least this'll buy me some running time before she comes after me. She'll find me anyway, but maybe …._

Mouse tried to think. Krios was clearly going to stop Kolyat. Kolyat was not going to be happy about it. Kelham was also going to be pissed at him. Would Thane come after him if he told Kolyat they were coming?

"Oh, shit. I have to go warn Kolyat."

#

Joram Talid. A turian. Amonkira, she loved turians. Bitter, metallic; exotic in a way that was hard to define. She hadn't had a chance to pick one up in a while. That human – what had his name been? He had distracted her from the one on Illium. But now, she'd found another. Better still, she was getting paid to take this one.

"_Excuse me? I'm looking for a friend."_

Kolyat stilled on her way to the long-term storage locker she kept in Zakera. A batarian considered yelling at her, but after one good look, he shuffled on his way. The rest of the crowd followed suit, breaking around her and leaving a small island of space around her untouched.

_The young man darts to and fro. His visage is panicked, his movements frenetic. He stops to ask several people if they have seen his friend._

Kolyat breathed slowly, blinking both sets of eyelids. This was a new one. Not a memory of her own and not one of her ancestors. What did it mean?

_The boy stops in front of a hanar. "Please, my friend. She wears a purple coat –"_

"_This one does not know your friend. Do not bother this one further."_

The memory faded out and Kolyat snarled, whirling around to hurry back the way she had come. If she did not stop him soon, he would say her name. She did not want the taste of that dirty duct rat in her mouth when she was hunting for turian. She wanted Talid.

She even had the perfect gown to lure her target. Deep blue, highlighting the blue tones in her skin. Cut low in the back, to showcase the gently curving violet stripes. It made all her angles appear more angular, and the matching shoes brought her height to something irresistible to most turians. All she had to do was fetch it from storage before she bumped into Talid casually at his fund-raiser tonight.

She was not going to be able to seduce Talid, was she?

_If that little rat has ruined my plans …._

It would make no difference to him, at any rate. She would have him dead either way, now.

#

"Joram Talid!" Kelham spit out. Blood poured into his eyes from where Shepard had hit him in the temple. His lips were swelling, cut on the inside from being smashed against his own teeth. Thane gazed at him with not quite remorse, but with a sinking feeling that this should have been handled better.

_There is not time for that now._ There truly was no time. Kolyat was going to kill this Talid, and once Kolyat had made a kill ….

"Too late," Thane whispered.

"Not yet, it's not. Let's go."

Thane followed her, his Siha. What would she say, if they failed? It was his fault, what Kolyat was about to do. It was his fault when he failed to save Irikah ….

"Siha, I must explain –"

"Later. We gotta stop your son."

_Son._ Yes, he would have to explain more than one thing when they caught up with Kolyat.

#

"Mouse."

This time, there was no mistaking her tone. Even though he had been looking for her, he ducked and tried to run when she spoke.

Kolyat kept pace easily; she was taller than he by quite a bit. She stayed behind him until he tried to take a sharp corner bordering an alley. She saw the opportunity and grabbed him, dragging him into the darkened space between shops.

"Ifyouwaitjustoneminuteyou'llbegrateful!"

Kolyat paused, the blade of her knife already pressed against his throat, already showing a thin line of red. She could move it forward, drag it down, spill his life's blood, watch him die in an alley for annoying her.

His hands were up, his eyes near tears. Why would he have even been looking for her, if he was so frightened?

Grateful, he had said.

"Grateful for what?" she asked.

"Promise you won't kill me," Mouse bargained.

"I should kill you. You were indiscreet."

"I never used your name. Never even said you were drell. You want this information, I swear."

Kolyat watched as he started sweating steadily. His eyes blinked furiously but he made no movement otherwise.

"Tell me the information, and if it is valuable to me, I may let you live."

Kolyat waited. She had the advantage here. Mouse was a coward. He would fold, tell her, and then she could kill him.

"No," Mouse said.

"What do you mean, 'no?'" Kolyat's brow drew downward. She had a knife at his throat. He said "no?"

"If you're gonna kill me either way, I'll keep my intel."

Kolyat bared her teeth slightly, hissing a breath out slowly. He was trembling and nearly soiling himself, but he was still unmovable. She could break him, but she wanted Talid sooner rather than later.

"I guarantee you don't have time to argue with me over the info. You need it. Like, now. All you gotta do is not kill me. Or, you know. Kill me and you won't get your target."

Kolyat's eyes widened slightly. "And why not?"

Mouse's face remained stubbornly set until she leaned away from him, removing the knife from his throat.

"You have my word. Now tell me."

"Your dad's on his way. With Commander Shepard. They were already going to find Kelham, and if you don't hurry, they'll beat you to whoever you're going after, too."

Mouse finished his speech to an empty alley; Kolyat was already running. She was not going to let them take him. Talid belonged to her.

Behind, Mouse shuddered once more. That was it, right? Kolyat got her information, Thane got his ….

_Unless, of course, we're waiting for Thane's dad to ask where he went. _

Mouse barked a quick laugh and shook his head. _Fuck_ no. He was leaving the Citadel before any more Krioses showed up.


End file.
